


The Best of Days (Io, Saturnalia)

by butterflydreaming (chrysalisdreams)



Series: Clow Reed's Magic [9]
Category: Cardcaptor Sakura
Genre: Family, Gen, Pre-Canon, Saturnalia, Winter
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-12-04
Updated: 2014-12-04
Packaged: 2018-02-28 02:58:07
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,156
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2716367
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/chrysalisdreams/pseuds/butterflydreaming
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Vignette about the creation of Cerberus' and Yue's alternate forms, The Snow Clow Card, and the winter holiday Saturnalia.</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Best of Days (Io, Saturnalia)

 

"Io, Saturnalia! Io, Saturnalia!" Cerberus galumphed into the bedroom as if he led a stampede. His large paws crumpled the rugs, and as he turned, his mass flipped them to expose the oak floor boards. "Clow, Saturnalia starts today! Get up, Yue, you sleepyhead!"

Yue dug out of the comfy goose down bed cover just enough to squint at his boisterous counterpart. Cerberus sparkled with sun glitter, little embers that burned pinpoint black marks onto Clow's down comforter. Yue glared. When it proved ineffective against Cerberus's aggressive cheer, Yue pulled the covers back over his head for protection.

Cerberus stomped up the bed and plopped his large body down between Yue and their maker. "Come on, Clow! I get to tell you what to do, today! So get up now and let's do some stuff!"

Clow sat up, pulling the covers partially back off, and Yue had to wriggle lower under the blankets. Clow scrubbed at his eyes. With a smile on his still-drowsy face, he leaned against his bent knees and pat Cerberus on his armored head. "Io, Saturnalia, Cerberus," he greeted. "I see that you are already wearing gold. Would you like something blue in honor of the holiday?"

"You need to wear blue and gold, too! And Yue has to wear something shiny! 'See the blazing Yue before us,' like the elephant says!"

"Thomas Oliphant," Yue griped from under the covers, "not 'elephant.' And it’s ‘Yule,’ you full well know."

"HIs lyrics aren’t the original words, either! That song is about bosoms and kisses."

Clow’s groggy voice rumbled into a chuckle. “It is, at that.”

Yue flopped the covers off. His hair fringe puffed messily around his face. "Why are you even awake this early..."

"The sky is awake, so I'm awake!" Cerberus whined. "Anyway, YOU get all the long nights approaching Solstice but for me the days are still getting shorter. Io, Saturnalia! Come on, let's go and play! It's my day and I want to build a snowman! In the sunshine!"

"All right, I'm getting up," Yue grumbled, though he didn't start moving. Clow, with another pat on the lion’s warm body, did hop out of bed. He layered himself in goldenrod silk and black wool in place of his flannel night gown, all the while humming a Christmas carol. Around his neck, he tied a cobalt blue cravat.

Cerberus pawed at Yue's immobile form. "Don't you want to build a snowman? It doesn't have to be a snowman. We could boss Clow around and make him build a snowman. Or an ice palace."

Yue sighed. "I know it's the tradition, but I like serving Clow. You may like switching roles for the holiday, Cerberus, but I find it silly."

Cerberus flopped onto his side. "Clooooowww..." he complained. "Make Yue tell you what to do..."

Yue muttered at Cerberus, as if Clow could not hear the whisper, “For the sake of peace. You know how he will get even once the holiday is past!” Louder, for Clow’s benefit, he said, "Cerberus, if Master Clow serves breakfast and makes some snow for your snowman, will that count enough for you?"

"I would be happy to serve breakfast," Clow offered. “However, Cerberus is correct, Yue. Today you should not call me master.”

Yue wriggled out of bed in a huff. Already missing the warmth of the bed, he wrapped his wings around himself like the goddess Freyja’s feather cloak. He stomped out of Clow’s bedroom, however, instead of flying, as he headed for his own room and a change out his bedclothes.

Clow bestowed a fond smile on his sun guardian. “Don’t worry, Cerberus. I won’t let Yue spoil your day.” He sat down beside Cerberus. “How are you feeling?”

Cerberus sat up on his hip. “I’ll be back to full power in a few days.” He shrugged. “It’s not a big deal. When Winter Solstice occurs, the strength of the sun comes back fast. Just stay out of trouble until then, Clow, ‘cuz the moon is waning right now, too.”

“I’m not a frail old man, Cerberus,” Clow countered. “But I will take your warning to heart. In the meantime,” Clow’s eyes twinkled behind the lenses of his spectacles, “I have your Saturnalia gift prepared.”

Cerberus floated up on his wings. “Oh-ho! Presents!”

“Just this for a start,” said Clow. He drew out, from beneath his collar,  the chain that held his staff in small key form. He spoke the words to invoke its full power. “Cerberus, Guardian Beast of the Clow Cards…” he continued, beginning a new spell.

Cerberus relaxed into a trance. His golden eyes dimmed under drooping eyelids. His wings surrounded him and sealed into something like a cocoon, glowing with Clow’s power. Clow’s magic circle shined beneath the cocoon.

“...be revealed now in a secondary form, which you may invoke at your own will, by the elements of fire and earth,” Clow finished.

Cerberus’ wings folded away and shrank. They shrank down to a size and style more suitable to the sun guardian’s new appearance. Clow caught the little creature as he fell out of hover in surprise.

“I’m tiny!” Cerberus exclaimed. “And soft!” He rubbed circles on his middle with soft paws. “No claws. And my armor is gone!” He pat his head. “My ears are huge!”

“And how does your strength feel, now?” Clow asked.

Cerberus made himself comfortable on Clow’s warm palm and considered. “I feel great.”

“This small form conserves your energy,” Clow said. “At the end of the sun cycle, you can stay in it as long as you need. You can return to full size whenever you prefer. It has the added benefit of making you small enough to fit in a traveling bag.”

Cerberus fluttered out of Clow’s hand and back down on to the bed. He experimented with bouncing up and down the fluffy covers.

“Mh, I almost forgot.” Clow drew out a dark blue ribbon adorned with gold bells. “Hold still, please.” He tied the ribbon around Cerberus’ neck.

Yue reentered the room as Clow finished the ribbon into a large bow. “Did you create someone new?” Yue asked, already smiling in greeting toward the new member of Clow’s family. “Hello --!” He stopped two steps into the room. His face changed from welcome to horror. “Clow! What did you do to Cerberus!” Running the rest of the way to his counterpart, he scooped Cerberus’s diminutive self into his arms. He protected him against his chest. “Cerberus, what happened to you?”

Cerberus, trying out his new power, grew to full size in Yue’s arms. The belled ribbon at his neck untied itself as he transformed. It bounced on the floor with merry sound. Yue stepped back when the transformation cocoon formed, but as the wings pulled back, Cerberus leaped toward Yue, tackling him to the ground. “Betcha didn’t see that coming!” the wing lioned guffawed. “Had you worried!”

“I was concerned!” Yue pushed Cerberus off. “Not worried!” He brushed nonexistent dirt from his pale clothes.

“Aw, come on. Clow would never let anything seriously bad happen to us.”

Yue’s crankiness vanished. “No, I know that.” He accepted Clow’s superfluous assistance in getting back upright. “I suppose it is in homage of Janus to make you two-faced on this day, Cerberus.”

“Ha! You’ll be, too.” Cerberus faced his maker. “Right, Clow? You’re going to make Yue doll sized?”

Clow smiled. “What I am going to do,” he said, “is fry up breakfast.” He clapped his hands and rubbed them together. His intent sure, he strode out of the room.

Cerberus made to bound after him, but Yue blocked the doorway. Hovering, he asked, “Why the false form, Cerberus?”

“Why not?” He pushed past his brother to get into the hall and start gliding down the stairs to the lower level of their home.

Yue swooped after him. “But what use is it?” He chased Cerberus into to the dining room, where the pleasant scents of breakfast already filled the air.

Clow came into the dining room with an apron tied over his fine clothes. He carried a china platter of green figs in syrup and sliced pears drizzled with honey. “We are in a time of transitions, Yue,” he said, setting down the plate. “Please sit, and I will explain over breakfast.”

Yue sank onto one of the backless benches at the dining table. Cerberus leapt up onto the other, one eye on his sibling while settling himself. “Aw,” the lion complained, “I lost my bells!” Yue barely acknowledged the comment. He crossed his arms over his waist, a forlorn expression on his face as he sat still and quiet.

Cerberus speared a wedge of fruit with a claw. The honey dripped off and into his waiting maw. He tossed the pear slice in after. It was gone in a gulp. “Clow says I’m travel sized,” he said.

Yue’s brow creased as he frowned. He said nothing, waiting for Clow as the sorcerer brought prepared food to the table. Cerberus thought that Yue may as well be sitting on his hands, the way his rigid posture revealed how much he was restraining himself from assisting their master. When Clow came in again, Cerberus barked an order at him just to get back in the mood of the holiday. “We need honeyed wine!” he bellowed. “Bring the mulsum, Clow!”

“Will hot chocolate suffice?” Clow asked. He carried in hot jiaozi dumplings, egg pancake, thick bacon, crackling sausages, marmalade, and scones wrapped in a tea towel. “Cerberus, you may want to change before you tuck in.”

Cerberus considered the implications of a large breakfast eaten while being a small size and was changing his form seconds after Clow made the suggestion. He hefted the fork and speared a dumpling. It took him two bites to devour the potsticker. He normally would have consumed a dozen at a time. He continued stuffing his face with more disproportionately sized food.

Clow took the bench nearest Cerberus. “We are in a time of transition,” Clow announced to his companions. “I have begun preparations for our move east.”

“East where, Clow?” Yue inquired. “The Continent?”

Cerberus popped out from under the blanket of an egg pancake. “Naw, the EAST! We’re going back to China,” he guessed.

“Not to China, Cerberus,” Clow corrected. “It will be some time more until those troubles are sorted out. I have somewhere else in mind. A place experiencing a great transition as it opens to the rest of the world again. A dawning sunrise, you might say.”

“Japan,” answered Yue. “The country of the rising sun.”

“Correct,” Clow agreed. He applied a large portion of jam to a scone. “I have begun the arrangements to set up a house for us there.”

Cerberus had his mouth full of bacon. “Wha’ happens ta this house, Clo’?” he asked while chewing.

A shadow of sadness tinted Clow’s smile. “I will have to allow some of the land to go to the development of this county. As for the rest, the legacy Reed estate will one day be put to use again. Don’t worry; we will have as many comforts in our new home as we have had here,” he assured. “Perhaps not so many while we are traveling, but in exchange for comfort we will have adventure.” He paid close attention to the reactions of his companions. “You both seem to be taking this news in stride,” he said.

Yue dipped his head. “Why would we question your decision?” he asked.

“No, you never have,” Clow agreed. With a sly look, he amended his agreement. Yue was not the rebelling creation he had been in early days, but if he didn’t still question Clow’s thinking at times, Clow Reed would not believe it. “Not explicitly. Cerberus? Have you any objections to voice?”

“Haven’t thought of anything yet,” replied the small Sun Guardian. He surveyed the remains of breakfast with tactical planning. This was Cerberus as he had always been, from his first minutes on: easy going, focused on the present.

“And as you might realize,” added Clow, “your new form will give you a bit more freedom. I’d like you too see more of our journey than you would if sealed with the cards.” He also reviewed the breakfast battlefield. “I think I will start clearing the table.” He pulled a Clow Card from his pocket, The Bubble, and started to invoke her, but both Cerberus and Yue interrupted him.

“No, Clow!”

“You mustn’t.”

“She gets to be your master, today, too!”

Clow made a sound between a cough and a chuckle. “That could go badly. Thank you.” With a grimace at the numerous dirty dishes, he piled a few on a platter and began ferrying them to the kitchen.

Yue picked up plates and began to follow. Cerberus fluttered into his path to block him. “Don’t be a spoilsport, Yue! Get into the spirit!”

Yue ducked around him and took the dishes into the kitchen. He caught Clow shoving unwashed china into a cabinet. Clow flushed a little with sly guilt.

“Is that a solution, Clow?” Yue chided. “If you put them there until the end of Saturnalia, we’ll run out of dinnerware.”

“You may be right,” Clow answered.

Yue set the dishes he was carrying down, then went to place kettle over the fire to heat water for washing. Clow caught his arm when he began pushing up his sleeves.

“Don’t, Yue,” Clow said. “Leave them be, for now.”

“Is that a command?” asked Yue, his eyes narrowed at his master.

Clow sighed and laughed. He took his hand off Yue’s arm and propped himself against the kitchen table. “I will do the dishes. First, however, I would like to speak with you.”

Yue crossed his arms. He looked down at the floor. “About my alternate form?” he predicted.

“You seem unhappy at the concept,” Clow said.

“I don’t want to be different from as I am,” Yue answered. “Could I not wear a glamour, when we travel, as I have on other occasions?”

Clow mused. “Yes, for now, that would suffice.” He smiled a gentle smile that was nevertheless tinged with sadness. “The time will come when it will not. You will need a form to hide within, Yue. To that end,  I am going to teach you a spell.”

“What do you mean, Clow?” Fear shined in Yue’s eyes.

“Do you trust me, Yue?”

“With my whole being, Clow,” Yue responded, though confusion still made him frown.

“This is the incantation,” said Clow as he drew his staff and opened a magic circle beneath Yue’s feet. He spoke the words of a spell while Yue’s eyes closed, as if in sleep. Yue’s head fell back as his whole body became relaxed. He floated up from the ground.

His wings grew large and engulfed him. Closed around him, the feathers glowed with magic light. They parted, drew back, and vanished. In place of  Yue, there stood a boy of fifteen. He wore a variation of Yue’s clothing, but styled in a contemporary cut, and he had short hair. His eyes remained closed.

“Not yet, Tsukishiro Yukito,” Clow whispered. With a gesture he made Yue’s wings appear again around the boy, reversing the transformation. Before Yue broke from the trance, Clow touched his fingers to Yue’s temple. “Recall this shape,” he said, “when that time comes.”

Yue blinked slowly. He looked a question at Clow and said, “I lost my train of thought.”

“Your glamour,” Clow provided. “That illusion will suffice while we travel.”

“I have no need for an alternate form, then?” Yue asked with visible relief.

“Not at this time. In the future, you may discover the need.”

Yue nodded, his gratitude apparent. “It may be silly of me, but I would be afraid of forgetting who I am, if I were someone else. I can think of few horrors as great as that.”

“Human beings become someone new with every meeting, Yue,” Clow said. “We are always changing. I can hardly reconcile who I was in my youth with who I now am. You, and Cerberus, have changed me more than any other.”

“We are not human beings,” Yue reminded with a mild smile.

“I believe that you can still be changed in this life,” Clow answered.

“Only for better, I would hope,” sighed Yue. “This small form Cerberus. Will it not change him?”

“Cerberus is Cerberus.” Clow put his arm around Yue’s shoulders to lead the Moon Guardian back to the company of the Sun Guardian. “His nature is a constant.”

“My nature is always to return to where I began,” Yue mused.

“You will always return to your truest self,” Clow said as they met Cerberus, who waited impatiently.

When the winged lion saw them, he pulled open a window and darted out toward the gardens. “Time to make it snow!” he shouted on his way.

Clow smiled his enigmatic smile. “Time to meet someone new,” he murmured.

When the small, magic family stood together out in the cold of an English December, Clow took the new card from within the pockets of his clothes. Cerberus landed his small body onto Clow’s shoulder to inspect the card. “Aw, she’s a card under the moon,” the sun lion complained.

Yue studied her image. “In the style of Japan’s native spirits?” he observed.

Clow answered, “Indeed.” He let the card float in the air before him. “If you please, Snow,” he requested of the card.

With a swirl of magic, the card released and became a snow colored woman. Like Windy, she silently flew a circle over the dormant garden. A fresh fall of snow fell in her wake. A blanket of new, fluffy white refreshed the older, crusty snow left by nature’s winter work.

Cerberus dropped to the ground in his full size and began rolling in the cold powder. “It’s perfect!” He hopped back up and started flying alongside The Snow, directing her to pile up a nice, abundant mound for him that he began to roll into round lumps.

The Snow seemed happy to provide as much fresh snow as first Cerberus, then Clow and Yue, needed. She drifted over Yue and decorated his long hair with snowflakes. After a conference with the two guardians, she casually floated over Clow Reed and dropped a small mountain of soft snow on him.

Clow drew out several other cards and released any that wanted to play. Soon, their winter wonderland filled with a variety of magic beings, from little sprites to human-sized spirits, enjoying the frozen artistry of the newest member to the Reed family.

Clow Reed, himself, dropped into the snow and waved his arms and legs to make a snow angel, then sat up and watched his winged family while they frolicked. He brushed the snow out of his black hair while smiling with deep contentment.

❄❄❄

 

 


End file.
